An immigrant rights group has launched an online petition against the city of San Bernardino and its police department after a series of city tweets showed a clampdown on street vendor carts.

“The San Bernardino Police Department has been targeting street vendors; hardworking people who are struggling to make ends meet in a tough economy,” said the Justice for Immigrants Coalition of Inland Southern California, the organization that launched the change.org petition.

The change.org petition had garnered more than 770 supporters as of Tuesday, Sept. 15 and is asking the city to develop a permit process.

Hundreds of Twitter users reacted to the police department’s tweets. Many were insulted, arguing that street vendors were just trying to make a living. A few others praised the department’s actions, saying vendors were making it harder for brick-and-mortar businesses. Others accused the department of being insensitive by promoting the clampdown.

San Bernardino Police Lt. Rich Lawhead said there were a number of complaints of vendors doing business without health department licenses.

He said the city and the police department were trying to help the “legitimate businesses in town.

Responding to people who accused the department of gloating about the crackdown, Lawhead said the tweets were only meant to inform the public.

Alejandra Molina writes about immigration, race, and religion for the Southern California News Group. In her decade-long career, she has reported how gentrification has affected downtown Santa Ana, how racism contributes the high black infant death rate, and how President Donald Trump is impacting undocumented communities across Southern California.